Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned from his post and left the capital Dhaka amid violent clashes, a source close to the embattled leader told the news agency AFP.
“She and her sister have left Ganabhaban (the Prime Minister’s official residence) for a safer place,” the source told AFP.
“She wanted to record a speech. But she could not get an opportunity to do that.”
This comes as Bangladesh’s army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman is set to address the nation after 98 people were killed in fierce clashes yesterday – the deadliest day in weeks of anti-government demonstrations.
Earlier, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation is a “possibility”, French news agency AFP reported on Monday, as six more people were killed in some of the worst violence since the birth of the South Asian nation more than five decades ago.
Hasina’s resignation is a “possibility”, AFP reported citing a senior aide. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Hasina and her sister had been taken to a “safe shelter” away from her official residence, a government source told Reuters.
“You see, the situation is very volatile. What is happening, I myself don’t know,” Law Minister Anisul Huq told Reuters.
Student activists had called for a march to the capital Dhaka on Monday in defiance of a nationwide curfew to press Hasina to resign, a day after deadly clashes across the country killed nearly 100 people.
As protesters began to march in some places, armoured personnel carriers and troops patrolled the streets of the capital, Reuters TV showed. There was little civilian traffic, barring a few motorcycles and three-wheel taxis.
